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Tools for Pastors and Churches
 

STEPS TOWARD BRINGING THE C.A.L.L. INITIATIVE TO YOUR AREA
1. Find out the current need in your county for foster and adoptive parents and make contact with us.
E-mail Mary Carol Pederson, Executive Director of The CALL in Arkansas, to inform us that you are interested in working through these steps and to determine the need in your county. Also, we can give you a contact list of those from your county who have expressed interest in The CALL, and share suggestions for how to get started networking, as needed. You may also call her at 501-823-0607.
2. Network with other laypeople in various Christian churches who are passionate about helping children in foster care, and begin compiling a list of contact names and information. Don’t start with pastors – they are busy and you can let them know about The CALL once you have all of the structure in place (at the summit planned in the last step).
Plan a CALL Vision-Casting Summit and invite those interested in getting involved from various churches.
Form a local steering committee of six to twelve people -- church representatives of varying Christian denominations. Also, you will need one lead person or couple who feels called to give substantial time, volunteering 20-30 hours a week, to coordinate the effort of getting The CALL off the ground in your area. This lead person or persons should not be the leader of another organization because of the time needed to launch The CALL. Ways to recruit a leadership team are:
E-mail and call the county contacts that have already shown interest in The CALL to meet together during lunch at an area restaurant or church to go over the steps together and begin brainstorming on how to bring The CALL.
Find current or past foster/adoptive parents among the churches (One way to get in contact with them is to call the church’s child care director and ask if he/she knows of any current foster families or those who have adopted through DHS.)
Make contacts within church orphan ministries. Some larger churches may already have a key contact for orphan ministry, foster care, or adoption in their church.
Contact CASA Child Advocates, Attorneys Ad Litems, Juvenile Judges
Contact Adoption Coalition members (E-mail Alicen Bennett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for these contacts in your county)
3. Ask God to move in a mighty way in your county on behalf of children in foster care! Plan to have a “prayer vigil” one evening for the foster care system – for the children, the workers, and the ability of churches to help. This won’t be a “CALL” event, but will be an important step in asking God to prepare the way and beginning to form cross-denominational relationships and unity in focusing on the needs in foster care. Prayer, whether it is 5 or 20 people gathered, is critical to this initiative being successful.
Invite your area DCFS case workers and put a call out to the various churches and your contacts. Ask that an announcement be put in church bulletins.
Have a handout of prayer requests for people to form small groups and pray during the event. Get photos of children available for adoption and pray for these children specifically.
For more information on how to have a powerful prayer vigil on behalf of orphans, contact Jason Weber of FamilyLife’s Hope for Orphans at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or go to www.fostercareprayervigil.org.
4. Recruit and form a list of Christian volunteers who will help expedite the training and certification of upcoming CALL-recruited families.
Christians with a college degree, who are gifted in the classroom to be CALL Foster/Adopt PRIDE trainers to help with required training of CALL families. Teachers are a great resource! Recruit at least 4 trainers to begin. Once a CALL agreement is signed, they can attend a Train the Trainer class.
Licensed social workers (LCSWs, LSWs, and MSWs) to volunteer to do home studies for CALL families. Also, Masters degree students in social work often need to do a home study for their coursework – ask any local college or university if they have masters program in social work. This is a critical need – you will want to recruit at least five to start.
CPR/First Aid licensed trainers to volunteer their services in leading classes. Recruit one or two volunteers.
5. Once progress is made in these steps, contact Mary Carol Pederson with The C.A.L.L. ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) to sign an agreement of guiding principles of The CALL giving your group permission to use The CALL name, get an edit of The CALL video with your county information, and benefit from technical assistance. Once your leadership team has a signed agreement of guiding principles with The CALL of Arkansas, Alicen Bennett, statewide liaison to The CALL, will meet with your local DCFS contacts to share DCFS protocol of working with The CALL.
6. Plan, along with local DCFS staff, a CALL “Launch Summit” in which area pastors/Christian laypeople are invited to find out more about what The CALL is and how they can get involved. It is a time to plan and/or announce recruitment, Info Meeting and training dates. This will signify an official “roll out” of The C.A.L.L. to your county. Our model is to have local leadership in each county or, for less populated areas, two to three counties which are geographically close.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE C.A.L.L.
(Children of Arkansas Loved for a Lifetime)
1) The C.A.L.L.’s mission is to educate, equip and encourage the Christian church community to provide a future and a hope for children in foster care. Our vision is no waiting children in Arkansas foster care, with every child being in an optimum, caring environment.
2) The C.A.L.L. is a Christian initiative. All churches and individuals who participate in and govern The CALL program shall hold the basic Christian beliefs as outlined in The Apostles Creed.
The C.A.L.L. seeks to represent Christ in our communities. We do that through our spirit of unity and faith that with God all things are possible. We seek positive relationships and collaboration with our friends at the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Division of Children and Family Services. We are solution-oriented, not allowing a spirit of criticism, but working together to improve services to children in foster care.
3) The C.A.L.L. is a multi-denominational Christian effort, both Protestant and Catholic. As the Body of Christ, we glorify God most when we are unified, as Christ prayed in John 17 of the Bible. Diversity of denominations and ethnicities is encouraged.
4) The C.A.L.L. will have a local steering committee in each county of Arkansas. Each steering committee may evolve into a Board of Directors, if 501(c)3 status is sought.
Any subsequent C.A.L.L. organization(s) shall agree to follow the policies and procedures adopted by DHS’ Division of Children and Family Services with respect to the recruitment, selection, training, and qualifications of all persons submitted as a prospective adoptive, foster, or respite care home through that C.A.L.L. organization.
5) Any subsequent C.A.L.L. organization(s) shall agree to hold harmless and indemnify The C.A.L.L. of Arkansas from any liability that might arise from, through, or by the activities of that organization as they relate to the recruitment, selection, training, and qualifications of the persons submitted as a prospective adoptive, foster, or respite care home through that C.A.L.L. organization.
6) Should any of the Steering Committees or Boards of Directors of subsequent C.A.L.L. organizations not adhere to the Guiding Principles and policies of The C.A.L.L. of Arkansas, and the issues in dispute with the Board of The C.A.L.L. of Arkansas cannot be resolved, the subsequent C.A.L.L. organization(s) shall no longer be authorized to use the name or resources of The C.A.L.L. The subsequent C.A.L.L. organization agrees that it will voluntarily change its name and organizational identity and cause no trouble that may do damage to the organization of The C.A.L.L..
7) The C.A.L.L. of Arkansas will be a resource of best practices and will provide technical assistance, as we are able, to counties bringing The C.A.L.L. initiative to their area.
CONTACT THE C.A.L.L.
Info on other counties in Arkansas:
Contact:  Mary Carol Pederson
E-mail (preferred):   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone:  501-425-4735

Watch this video to find out "How to Launch The C.A.L.L."

 

 

Steps Toward Bringing The C.A.L.L. Initiative To Your Area

 

1. Find out the current need in your county for foster and adoptive parents and make contact with us.

 

  • E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Executive Director of The C.A.L.L. in Arkansas, to inform us that you are interested in working through these steps and to determine the need in your county. Also, we can give you a contact list of those from your county who have expressed interest in The C.A.L.L., and share suggestions for how to get started networking, as needed. You may also call her at 501-425-4735.


2. Network with other laypeople in various Christian churches who are passionate about helping children in foster care, and begin compiling a list of contact names and information. Don’t start with pastors – they are busy and you can let them know about The C.A.L.L. once you have all of the structure in place (at the summit planned in the last step).


  • Plan a C.A.L.L. Vision-Casting Summit and invite those interested in getting involved from various churches.
  • Form a local steering committee of six to twelve people -- church representatives of varying Christian denominations. Also, you will need one lead person or couple who feels called to give substantial time, volunteering 20-30 hours a week, to coordinate the effort of getting The C.A.L.L. off the ground in your area. This lead person or persons should not be the leader of another organization because of the time needed to launch The C.A.L.L. 

    Ways to recruit a leadership team are:
    • E-mail and call the county contacts that have already shown interest in The C.A.L.L. to meet together during lunch at an area restaurant or church to go over the steps together and begin brainstorming on how to bring The C.A.L.L.
    • Find current or past foster/adoptive parents among the churches (One way to get in contact with them is to call the church’s child care director and ask if he/she knows of any current foster families or those who have adopted through DHS.)
    • Make contacts within church orphan ministries. Some larger churches may already have a key contact for orphan ministry, foster care, or adoption in their church.
    • Contact CASA Child Advocates, Attorneys Ad Litems, Juvenile Judges
    • Contact Adoption Coalition members (E-mail Alicen Bennett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for these contacts in your county)


3. Ask God to move in a mighty way in your county on behalf of children in foster care! Plan to have a “prayer vigil” one evening for the foster care system – for the children, the workers, and the ability of churches to help. This won’t be a “C.A.L.L.” event, but will be an important step in asking God to prepare the way and beginning to form cross-denominational relationships and unity in focusing on the needs in foster care. Prayer, whether it is 5 or 20 people gathered, is critical to this initiative being successful.

 

  • Invite your area DCFS case workers and put a call out to the various churches and your contacts. Ask that an announcement be put in church bulletins.
  • Have a handout of prayer requests for people to form small groups and pray during the event. Get photos of children available for adoption and pray for these children specifically.
  • For more information on how to have a powerful prayer vigil on behalf of orphans, contact Jason Weber of FamilyLife’s Hope for Orphans at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or go to www.fostercareprayervigil.org.

 

4. Recruit and form a list of Christian volunteers who will help expedite the training and certification of upcoming C.A.L.L.-recruited families.

 

  • Christians with a college degree, who are gifted in the classroom to be C.A.L.L. Foster/Adopt PRIDE trainers to help with required training of C.A.L.L. families. Teachers are a great resource! Recruit at least 4 trainers to begin. Once a C.A.L.L. agreement is signed, they can attend a Train the Trainer class.
  • Licensed social workers (LCSWs, LSWs, and MSWs) to volunteer to do home studies for C.A.L.L. families. Also, Masters degree students in social work often need to do a home study for their coursework – ask any local college or university if they have masters program in social work. This is a critical need – you will want to recruit at least five to start.
  • CPR/First Aid licensed trainers to volunteer their services in leading classes. Recruit one or two volunteers.

 

5. Once progress is made in these steps, contact Lauri Currier with The C.A.L.L. to sign an agreement of guiding principles of The C.A.L.L. giving your group permission to use The C.A.L.L. name, get an edit of The C.A.L.L. video with your county information, and benefit from technical assistance. Once your leadership team has a signed agreement of guiding principles with The CALL of Arkansas, Alicen Bennett, statewide liaison to The C.A.L.L., will meet with your local DCFS contacts to share DCFS protocol of working with The C.A.L.L.


6. Plan, along with local DCFS staff, a C.A.L.L. “Launch Summit” in which area pastors/Christian laypeople are invited to find out more about what The C.A.L.L. is and how they can get involved. It is a time to plan and/or announce recruitment, Info Meeting and training dates. This will signify an official “roll out” of The C.A.L.L. to your county. Our model is to have local leadership in each county or, for less populated areas, two to three counties which are geographically close.

 


CONTACT THE C.A.L.L.


Info on other counties in Arkansas:


Contact:  Lauri Currier

E-mail (preferred):  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Phone:  501-823-0607